MY Career with SSP

I joined Sepakat Setia Perunding Sdn Bhd (SSP) at www.sspsb.com.my in 2004 as a Resident Engineer to represent the developer overseeing the construction and completion of a new complex for the local council, Majlis Daerah Hulu Langat in Banting, Selangor.

Established in 1970, SSP is presently a leading multidisciplinary engineering consultancy firm in Malaysia serving both the public and private sectors. Registered with the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) and Ministry of Finance (MOF), it has undertaken and completed numerous multi million government and private projects throughout the country. SSP has also been accredited by SIRIM with the MS ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Systems certification for provision of engineering consultancy services.

As for this project which cost RM 20 million, the same quality standards were practiced. The role of resident engineer is listed down as follows :-

1. To protect the standard practice of the company and the interest of the client.
2. To represent the company in all official site and design meetings providing the best consultancy advice without sacrificing the quality and engineering practice.
3. To coordinate and monitor the progress of the site construction works in order to control the cost within the budget and the time within the project's schedule.
4. To assist and report to the Project Manager on the technical problems at site and to suggest the best engineering solution at the minimal cost and fastest time.
5. To evaluate and process the interim progress claim (IPC) by the contractor on monthly basis.
6. To supervise and advise the contractor on all construction activities as to control the QA/QC for the best results and quality performance.
   

The developer was Golden Hope Builders Sdn Bhd which had awarded the contract to a main contractor, Gabongan Strategik Sdn Bhd. The consultants involved in the design and supervision of the above project were as follows :-

1. MAA Arkitek Sdn Bhd, an architectural firm.
2. Sepakat Setia Perunding Sdn Bhd, a C&S and M&E consultant.
3. Jurukur Bahan Malaysia, a QS consultant.

I was reporting to the Project Manager of SSP, Ir Zolkarnain Abd Rahim. We had a monthly meeting at site to monitor the progress and resolve any outstanding and site technical issues. The meeting normally chaired by the architect while I was reporting the works progress and evaluating the contractor's claim with the presence of the QS.

The works consist of an administration block of three floors and infrastructural works including M&E works. The building was located on a piece of land belonged to Golden Hope Plantation Berhad which used to be oil palm estate. It was about 4 km from the town of Banting which is about 40 km from the royal city of Klang, Selangor.

The most challenging technical problems that we encountered in the project was the platform settlements since the soil was mostly very fibrous. Although the C&S consultant had advised the treatment of soil by using surcharge of earth materials and to allow for settlement for a period of 6 months. When the settlement monitoring record was shown consistent, the surcharge was removed. Unfortunately, during construction, the earth platform was still settling which to the best of engineering knowledge may be caused by the soft layer of soil at a very much lower level of underground. It was suggested that the roadside drain, drain sumps, culverts and even manholes of sewer to be provided with bakau piles.